Review Summary: A melodic raw black metal gem.
Vampirska is an one-man band from the United States, one of the more active members in the USBM scene (handful of split appearances in a quite short time). After the anonymous artist’s promising debut LP,
Torturous Omens of Blood and Candlewax, Vampirska’s long-awaited sophomore was released this March, which is in my humble opinion, one of the best raw black metal albums I’ve heard quite a while.
The harsh, ghastly and cobwebby soundscape of raw black metal could easily scare away many ears, especially if the final product sounds like it was recorded on a potato. Vampirska’s debut followed this more “traditional” technique, as everything was recorded on an analog 4 track, so the result was a bit blunt, but due to the massive amount of excellent riffs within, it was still one of the better raw black metal recordings in the past few years. In my opinion, Vampirska could show out its fullest potential only in
Vermilion Apparitions Frozen in Chimera Twilight. The album has a far sharper, fullier production but didn’t abandon the sound and
aesthetics of raw black metal. But that’s not all: Vampirska’s latest is an unusually complex release, at least compared to other black metal releases. This comes from many factors. The first, and most obvious one is the very creative guitarwork, inspired by the melodic side of the genre - lots of similarities can be heard to bands like Mütiilation, Judas Iscariot, Darkthrone, Lamp of Murmuur or Satanic Warmaster. In every song an unique melodic flow is presented (you can hear lots of awesome major chord riffs too, like in the second half of “
Vermilion Apparitions: Five Hundred Sleepless Nights... Drained by Distress, All I See is Red…”), and the variety within makes this release really memorable and elevates its replay value to the maximum. Another factor behind the album’s success is the complex drumming (the artist’s favourite instrument are the drums, according to some interviews). As expected, the album contains some blast beats, but if you listen carefully, many little extra details (like the use of cymbals and the tempo changes) make the overall performance feel extra dynamic. The lack of creativity on the rhythm front is often the Achilles-heel of a black metal release (
*cough* Wiegedood *cough*), so I found this strength of Vampirska especially impressive. Additionally, I’d like to mention the atmosphere-invoking effect of the synths in the background, which had a massively positive effect on the album’s flow. Even though their presence is covered by the thick walls of riffs most of the time, they almost always present like a secret ingredient to spice things up.
Any fans of the raw or melodic branch of black metal shouldn’t miss out
Vermilion Apparitions Frozen in Chimera Twilight. The seemingly endless waves of top-quality riffs combined with the aesthetics of raw black metal makes this release feel like rediscovering a hidden gem from the ‘90s - and that is a
special feeling.
